Alma is victorious as ASG elect
The newly elected
ASG president was
announced Saturday
at the Spring Dinner
Dance
Go to advocateonline.net to
see Pacheco in
action

by Greg Leonov
The Advocate
Alma Pacheco and Cristian Urzua were pleased
to be named winners of the 2014 MHCC election
for ASG president and vice president, the announcement coming at the school’s Spring Dinner
Dance held Saturday at Persimon Country Club.
“It was really nerve-wracking. We tried to keep
it calm — Cristian and myself, but we couldn’t sit
down and watch the performance, the magician,”
said Pacheco about the moments leading up to the
news.
“It was five minutes beforehand, we talked to
the (current ASG) vice president, Eduardo (Ortiz),
and he told us to calm down, that everything was
going to be okay,” she said. “Everybody was acting
really funny, Meadow (McWhorter, ASG adviser)
was giggling ’cause we kept on walking, pacing
back and forth.”
Pacheco will be ASG’s student body president
of the 2014-2015 school year, with Urzua serving
as vice president.
“I said, ‘Thank you, to everyone who supported us, especially the elections committee, and our
marketing team,’ ” said Pacheco.
Urzua gave a short speech thanking all of the
opposing candidates for running. He said he would
take their different goals into consideration “and
put them in our goals for next year because they’re
obviously things to work for at this school,” said
Pacheco.
All of the candidates that ran for office agreed
that prices of textbooks are too high, and that designated smoking areas on campus are a good idea.
Pacheco said Urzua was a little shaken by the
campaign win. “At the end of the day, Cristian sat
down and he analyzed everything, he tried to (let
it) sink it in, but I guess it didn’t” right away, she
said.
The two are not only political partners, but
they are a couple as well.
“This year, we had been together 24/7. We

Alma Pacheco and Cristian
Urzua were elected with 218
votes out of 514
actually started dating last year,” said Pacheco.
They have been able to keep their relationship as
professional as possible. “School is school; we’ve
always separated school with personal life,” she
said.
“Not a lot of people found out that we were
dating,” said Pacheco about their situation during
the campaign. “It’s a pretty good thing because we
can actually observe when we’re professional and
when we’re not,” she said about their work relationship.
“We forget sometimes that we’re dating. He
is very determined (with) his goals – to achieving
his goals,” said Pacheco about Urzua. “I’m very
focused — when I have something to achieve, I do
it as well, but I do it (in) a more — very detailed
way.”
After a two-week campaign, Pacheco is content to focus on the present. “I’m trying to put
my feet on the ground for grades. My present right
now involves classes, catching up with classes, and
then for ASG — getting the word out for ASG (job

openings) applications.”
Besides getting her own academics in order,
Pacheco said it is important to make sure positions
in ASG get filled for next year. “I feel like every
year, every (candidate) ticket gets so excited about
the new position, but then they don’t focus on the
actual part of ‘I have to make a team.’ ”
The two hope to have members in ASG next
year represent diversity in age. “This year’s ASG is
very young. We want it to be a variety of ages and
cultural and different perspectives from the community because our community is very diverse,”
Pacheco said.
Pacheco and Urzua also want to get students to
be more engaged with Mt. Hood.
“We already started communicating with faculty, a lot of them. We’re getting to know a lot of
the teachers and they all have different ideas for
their department, each department is different,”
she said.
The couple wants to get the free speech area
beneath the Library ADA-approved (federal dis-

District board approves budget cuts
by Greg Leonov
The Advocate
The MHCC proposed budget for 2014-2015 was adopted on Wednesday by the school’s budget committee, which also approved a local property tax levy that
leaves rates unchanged.
The $67.8 million budget plan, at $3.3 million less
than the current-year budget, forced the elimination of
16 employee positions at Mt. Hood this month.
Members of the budget committee then gaveled
in their regular MHCC District board meeting (board
members fill both roles) and quickly changed focus to
other issues.

Mt. Hood’s annual achievement compact update
was presented by John Hamblin, director of enrollment,
Sheri Mosher, director of accreditation. The report is
required by the Oregon Education Investment Board
(OEIB), which has indentified a state goal, by 2025, to
get 40 percent of all Oregon high school graduates to
earn a certificate or associate’s degree, 40 percent to
earn a bachelor’s or advanced college degree, and for
all departing high school students to hold a high school
diploma.

ability laws) so that campus events can be held
there during rainy days. “There are stairs (that) go
underneath where the water fountain is. There’s
no ramp there. So, it’s not approved to have any
events,” Pacheco said.
She acknowledges the fact that there are challenges to getting Mt. Hood students more engaged.
“It’s a community college, it’s going to be
hard. We all have other responsibilities other than
just being in school, but there has to be a way to
raise awareness,” she said.
Her team so far has been getting in touch with
instructors, and brainstorming ideas for student
engagement. “We already started communicating
with faculty, a lot of them. We’re getting to know a
lot of the teachers and they all have different ideas
for their department,” she said.
Pacheco said she wants Mt. Hood students to
know, above all else, “that it’s their school. They
deserve to take advantage of every single bit of
their school.”

The Advocate
awarded 15
honors
The Advocate is pleased
to announce it brought
home 15 awards at the
Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s 2014
Collegiate Day last Friday,
racking up three more
awards than last year.
Some of the honors include second-place General
Excellence honors, based on
judges’ cover-to-cover assessment of three complete issues;
first place Best Section and Best
Website; and second place Best Design.
The newspaper competed against
two-year schools across the state, as
well as non-daily newspapers at Oregon universities in some categories.
Results were announced at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, following break-out seminars for student
journalists.

To view all of our awards visit

www.advocate-online.net

2014 Awards
First place Best
Section First place Best
Sports Story First place
Best Review First place Best
Columnist First place Best
Website Second place General
Excellence
Second
place Best Sports Story
Second place Best Design Second place Best
Graphic Second place
Best Columnist
Second place
Best
Cartooning
Third
place
Best
News
Story
Third
place
Best
Editorial
Third place Best
Review

2013 FIRST PLACE

General excellence
Oregon Newspaper
Publisher Association

@mhccadvocate

Facebook.com/TheAdvocateOnline

@mhccadvocate

2

Opinion

May 16, 2014

Editorial: A reminder on the rape epidemic
Sometimes it takes a horrible event
to happen to make us realize what issues
may exist that we push out of the forefront of our minds.
Take, for example, the Donald Sterling incident: He is the owner of the Los
Angeles Clippers basketball team who was
recorded making repeated racist comments. Before this information was released, chances are that many of us didn’t
think racism still existed to that extent.
Yet, it does.
The same goes for the alleged gang
rape of a University of Oregon student by
three basketball players: It raises fears
about sexual attacks on or near a college
campus, something many of us don’t
think much about very often.
Mt. Hood is a relatively safe campus. There have been no reported cases

of sexual assault since at least 2009, according to the 2013 Clery Report (required
by federal law) issued by the Public Safety
department.

No matter how safe
our campus is at Mt.
Hood, sexual assault
continues to occur
all around us.
This is a drastic contrast when you
turn your attention to Oregon’s campus
in Eugene, which had 70 reported sexual
assaults in 2010-12. Yes, we acknowledge
there is a big difference between a community college (especially one without

incidents is botched, however. The U.S.
Department of Education recently released a list of 55 schools that are currently under investigation for handling
sexual assaults incorrectly.
Oregon schools are off that hook —
none of them made the list, released on
May 1. This is a relief for those of us at
The Advocate heading to an Oregon university this fall.
Still, we feel an urgency to see that
our educational institutions keep student safety foremost in their minds. It is
more important to handle any suspected
case of sexual assault immediately, and
with full transparency. If a college administration learns of a reported assault,
it should be common sense to report it as
is expected under Title IX requirements
(which focus on gender equity).

housing) and a large, four-year university.
Even so, Oregon State University in Corvallis had 50 fewer assault reports during
the same time period. Portland State, in
downtown Portland, had 30 fewer.
On-site housing is not the source
of the problem, we note. We examined the Clery report data from
Southwestern Community College,
one of the few Oregon community
colleges with on-site housing, and
found it had just one sexual assault
on their Coos Bay campus during the
same time period.
Our main point is this: Sexual assault isn’t something we should sweep
under the rug. It should not be downplayed or hidden to save the reputation
of the college (or its star athletes). Too
often, officials’ treatment of reported

Just let go – chase your dream

No matter how safe our campus is
at Mt. Hood, sexual assault continues to
occur all around us.
We must stay aware, both as a group
and as individuals. Keep an eye out for
yourself and others. We’re not in elementary school anymore, but the buddy
system still applies. Men and women
alike, be cautious of your surroundings.
If you’re transferring to a larger
university, do your homework. Each
college submits a Clery Report each
year that details the number and nature
of all crimes that took place.
If the university you’re thinking
about transferring to has a high rate
of violent crimes or made the new DOE
list, pause and ask: Is that the kind
of environment you want to be in, or
would send your children to?

(A sabbatical )
Eye on Nature

Globalization
is not new

By Danny
Perez-Crouse

by Wally Shriner
Guest Columnist
A few years ago, I watched a speech
that motivated me like no other. I’ve
seen it multiple times since then, and
it was one of the driving forces that
helped me realize just how to obtain my
dream.
If you haven’t already, I implore you
go watch Steve Jobs’ commencement
speech for Stanford University, given in
2005. It’s a phenomenally moving address and will shake the apathy right
out of you.
There is a particular quote in the
speech that resonates with me to this
day: “Your work is going to fill a large
part of your life, and the only way to be
truly satisfied is to do what you believe
is great work. And the only way to do
great work is to love what you do.”
Those words have haunted me in
my pursuit for a career. You see, I’d
given up on all of my loftier ambitions and couldn’t find anything more
grounded that appealed to me. Because
everything I looked into didn’t fit for
me, I was afraid that I’d end up with a
dead-end job, living in a trailer eating
discount lunchables for the rest of my
life. I kept picturing Steve shaking his
head in disappointment at me.
After a while, I came to a realization
what I wanted. I love movies and am
enamored with visual storytelling. The
idea of being transported to a new world
in a one-to-three hour sitting is magical. My moment of clarity came when I
realized how much joy and enlightenment films bring me, and how I want to
bring that kind of joy to someone else.
Ergo, I want to be a filmmaker — specifically, a director/writer.
However, I still couldn’t truly see
myself going for it. I found that letting

Grap
hic b
y

go is the hardest part. There is a certain stigma to how we divide careers,
passion and happiness. It’s not easy to
accept the fact that you actually can do
something you love for a living.
It’s also hard to face the social opposition. When I decided to go forward
with my plans, I could picture all the
restrained grimaces of people reacting to such an ambitious goal. If your
dream isn’t among the vanilla blend of
“acceptable” careers like business or
medicine, then it’s deemed unimpressive or illogical. But, who cares?
If you have people who support you
and think you’re making the right decision, that’s great. And if they don’t, they
can have a word with the bird. This is
how I look at it: You shouldn’t measure
something as obtainable by other peo-

ple’s standards. Just picture your road to
obtaining the dream. How are you going
to do it? Can you do it? And most importantly, would it make you happy?
Ever since I accepted my calling, my
thoughts are dominated by all things
film. I’ve been writing screenplays, reading screenplays, picturing shots, evaluating movies, and learning about directing
— all with a childish glee. Never before
has my mind been so focused on one
thing, and so excited for my future.
I’m telling you, if there is some kind
of inkling towards a greater passion
that you’ve been burying, just go for
it. Why spend the rest of your life regretting what you never dared to fulfill?
And, it’s never too late to turn back.
I just have one caveat: You should
dive into your dream headfirst, but you

Hea
the
r Go
lan
-

The
Ad
vo
ca
te

should also have something concrete to
fall back on. I could very well crash and
burn in the filmmaking industry. Nothing would bring me greater disappointment, but not having a degree (such as
the bachelor’s degree in communications I’ll have) and a backup plan would
only make the pain more severe. Shoot
for the stars, but make sure you have a
safe place to land.
Steve Jobs’ words hold so much
merit because he was living proof of
what can happen if you follow your
heart. He put all his energy into what he
believed was important. I’ll leave you
with another one of his many nuggets
of wisdom:“If you haven’t found it yet,
keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all
matters of the heart, you’ll know when
you find it.”

A vast and deep ocean separates the continents of North
America and Europe, but after
seven months of travel through
exotic Oceania, Asia and Africa,
the flora and fauna seems utterly
familiar. Here are deciduous trees
in bloom or already in full spring
leaf. At higher elevations, pines
appear and higher still, mountain
meadows are beginning to peak out
through melting snow.
There are differences, of
course, and closer investigation
reveals that the species are not
the same on both sides of the sea.
The morning chorus is louder than
in Oregon, and the voices of the
birds are as foreign to my ear as the
multitude of languages spoken by
the local human inhabitants. Birds
that are familiar — European Starlings and House Sparrows — are
natives, not invasives, here, and
occur in smaller numbers, natural
parts of communities established
long ago.
Interestingly, there are North
American invasives on this side of
the Atlantic. Prickly pear cactus
line the roads of Spain, just as they
did in Africa, reportedly brought to
Europe by Columbus on his return
from the New World and spreading on their own or with human
help. Other biogeographic patterns
reflect journeys taken well before explorations on sailing ships
as plants and animals dispersed
across Palearctic longitudes over
land and ice bridges, or were blown
or flown on the wind.
All of this is evidence that globalization is nothing new.

Foundation auction earned thousands
by Madeline Boyce
The Advocate
Trips to Africa, Italy, a one-week
cruise, a Cannon Beach weekend, a golf
outing and more attractive items were
up for bid at this year’s MHCC Foundation Auction, held April 26 at the Red
Lion Hotel at Jantzen Beach.
The fundraising totals are in: The
Foundation raised more than $192,000
total from the event, with net proceeds
of over $132,000. About $85,000 of the

take came from local company sponsorships, officials say.
About 360 people were in attendance at the auction — an increase
from last year — and one lucky woman won this year’s golden ticket. Sold
for $100, special tickets entered their
purchaser into a drawing. The winner
could choose his/her prize from all the
offered oral auction items. And, this
year’s winner chose the one-week trip
to Africa.
This year’s event featured a 1950s

“Shake Rattle & Roll” theme, with
dance music provided by the local Portland band, Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts, after attendees bid and dined.
Established in 1969, the nonprofit
Foundation’s declared mission is to be
“a unifying force providing resources
vital to quality education and community life.” All proceeds from the annual auction goes to benefit Mt. Hood
students and the school. Through these
fundraisers, the Foundation donates
over $100,000 each year, including

roughly $80,000 in scholarships and
$30,000 in classroom equipment.
Next year’s auction plans are already being prepared, and a date has
been set – next April 25.
“We’re talking right now about
actually having the auction right here
on campus,” said Al Sigala, executive
director of MHCC Foundation & Alumni Relations. “It’s getting community
back on campus. Having them experience and learn more about what’s
available here. And what we’re doing as

a college to build a workforce through
the different programs.”
Holding one of Mt. Hood’s biggest
events on-site might mean more students attending, attendees touring the
college grounds and a greater chance to
reach out to the community. A different location will switch up the auction,
adding something new, said Sigala.
Sigala added that he wanted to
“thank everyone for their sponsorships
and for their donations. It’s all for you
students. That’s the whole idea.”

Board

Continued from page 1

Orientation Center increases numbers
Mosher said the report covers many areas, including reverse articulate agreements with other colleges, enrollment
numbers, various certificate numbers, and College Now to
determine Mt. Hood’s progress in meeting OEIB standards.
According to Mosher, the Orientation Center is a great
resource for retaining students. Visits to the center went up
by 700 students from fall to winter term of this school year.
“Our increasing enrollment numbers tend to reflect the efforts of having that one-on-one Orientation Center where
students can get specific help,” she said.
Hamblin presented the hard numbers, saying that 453
students have completed their course of study and have received certificates or completed Oregon transfer modules
(curriculums that require a year of education so that students
can transfer to a two-year or four-year school). Last year, 350
students completed these programs.
“We’re projecting to end the year with 705 (such students), which is a substantial growth from the previous year,
and almost double (the) projection and that’s also improving
that six-and-a-half percent enrollment decline” for MHCC
overall the past year,” said Hamblin.

“It’s a substantial growth and substantial completion
and (are) indicators of student success. The activities that
we’re doing as an institution to support student completion
are paying off and our students are reaping the benefits.”
In her monthly board report, President Debbie Derr
talked about attending the Community College President’s
Council meeting in The Dalles.
Board Chairwoman Diane Noriega attended the Oregon
Community Colleges Association.
Derr said that the Higher Education Coordinating Council
is going forward to the Oregon Legislature to push for greater
funding for higher education for both community colleges
and Oregon’s public universities. The governor requested
that the Council should put forward an “outcomes-based
funding model.”
According to Derr, the Community College President’s
Council proposed a funding model that would establish goals
directed to student success and completion rates, and the
physical health of each community college (maintenance and
facilities improvements).
The next MHCC board meeting is scheduled for June 11.

Today is the last day to withdraw
from class
Summer Term registration is open
Fall Term schedule is available

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TAKE CORE CLASSES
such as math, science,
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Students’ art on display
by Greg Leonov
The Advocate
Mt. Hood will be displaying artwork produced by MHCC students in the Visual Arts Gallery in a juried exhibit that began Monday and
will continue through June 5.
The exhibit features work done throughout
the year.
Art major Walter Clinton has a digital piece
that displays a transformation. “We took a picture of ourselves and went through different
editing software to get effects to show ourselves
turning from one thing into another,” he said.
The project was open-ended, so students
had the opportunity to decide what they could
turn into. Walter decided to transform into
a dragon. “I like dragons – they’re my favorite mythical creatures,” he said. “It’s just the
power and the mystery behind them, and all
the folk tales that you hear about them.”
Clinton has been interested in art since his
middle school days. “In high school I took a
graphic design class just about every year,” he
said. His interest in digital art stems from the
independence it offers.
“I like the freedom of digital media in art
because most of the time, there’s not one set
thing (saying) ‘You have to do this, you have
to do that,’ ” he said. “The most you get (are)
guidelines on how employers might want it,

but you have the freedom to create how you
want it, and then as long as it looks how they
think that they want it, it’ll be great.”
As for what viewers might get from his displayed piece, Clinton said, “I was hoping they’d
see the simplicity of how my work is actually
done, and I just hope they appreciate the pictures.
The exhibit is not limited to digital media.
Three-dimensional work is a prominent presence in the gallery.
Art major Isaiah Mason will display some
sculpting work in the show. His most eyecatching piece is a cast bronze sculpture.
“This is the first piece that I am very proud
of,” said Mason about his statue. “That’s kind
of why I named it ‘The Christening.’ I thought
that this was the first piece that I was like, ‘You
know what? This is something that I’d like to
show to people.’ I feel like it was the beginning
of a new adventure.”
“The Christening” is a sculpture of a humanoid warrior.
“It was supposed to initially be an angel, it
was gonna have wings, I wanted it to be like an
angel warrior,” said Mason. “But, the sculpture
started kind of taking its own path. It sounds
kind of weird, but they (art pieces) end up doing that.”
Sculpting often starts with an idea, but
changes completely. “You start — set out with
this idea — this basic form; then it starts to do

Looking for something to do? Check out our
TO BE
revamped weekly calendar for some fun
DETERMINED
ideas!

its own things here and there,” he said.
Mason said he feels a close relationship
with his work. “You start to feel attached to a
piece and all the different steps that you have
to take,” he said. “There’s an emotional connection that you get with your pieces.”
As for sculpting, Mason said he “started out
with the basic forms — just abstract forms,”
but now takes joy in crafting a real piece.
“Being able to learn the different steps
and creating a mold and being able to then
cast something... it’s a longer process than
one might imagine. Now that I have a finished
product (and) it’s something that’s gonna last
forever, I find myself feeling a bit emotional,”
he said.
Mason hopes to pursue a career in sculpting. When he started college, he initially wanted to be a physician’s assistant, but changed
his mind when he took ceramics classes to fulfill his humanities requirements.
After some ceramics classes, he decided to
check out sculpting.
“I knew that they worked with clay in the
sculpting department,” he said. “I got there,
and basically discovered that anything that has
three dimensions to it, I could fathom it in my
brain that I could probably make it, and that
was a pretty big eye-opener to me — enough
to where it has me switching why I’m going to
school.”

The Mt. Tabor Art Walk showcases artists who live within the
neighborhood, and is sponsored
by a community of artists supporting each other. For more
information, visit mttaborartwalk.com.

Weekend movie
pick: Godzilla

Museum by
Moonlight

May 22, 5:30 to 8:30
p.m.
World Forestry Center
Discovery Museum
4033 S.W. Canyon Rd.,
Portland
This event is a special preview
night of The Art of Dr. Suess,
and will be a rare glimpse into
the artistic life of Theodore
Suess Geisel, featuring rare
and never-before-seen works
from the 1920s to 1990s. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25
at the door. For tickets, visit
tickettomato.com.

Opens today
In theaters everywhere
The anxiously awaited
remake is finally here, and
lovers of the original are sure
to be excited for this one.
This film will retell the origin
of Godzilla in contemporary times, and stars Aaron
Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence.

If Frozen Was A Horror
Movie
In the mood for a laugh? As part of our weekly
feature, we will show you one awesome video and
tell you why you should watch it.
When a video is so well done it actually seems
plausible, you know it’s a good one. This week’s
video is sure to be a fun one for fans of “Frozen,”
and is still realistic for those who aren’t. The music
is great in this fake trailer, and is sure to make you
feel like you are watching a real-life (fake) cartoon
horror movie. To see this viral video that has over
6 million views for yourself, search for the title on
YouTube.

Shelby Jones is bringing her vision
to life on stage as she makes her directorial debut in MHCC’s Spring Theatre
Production, “The Heidi Chronicles.”
Jones, a second-year student at Mt.
Hood, is studying general education in
the hopes of transferring to University
of Portland after fall term, where she
plans to pursue nursing. To her, the
theater is simply a passion.
“I’m really involved in the theater department, so I feel at home…
It’s kinda strange being like, ‘I’m still
going to be a nurse,’ and they’re all
Broadway,” Jones said.
She was born in Mexico and lived
in England for two years when she
was growing up, and said her family is
British. “I should have an accent, and
I should know how to speak Spanish,
but I don’t. I know how to count to ten
and that’s about it,” she said.

Jones said she was surprised that
she was selected to direct the spring
play. She is part of Mt. Hood’s directing class, where each of the students
in the class made their “pitch” as to
why they should be chosen as director.
“I went with a more simple approach,
with the abstract set and having a different lighting approach, having lighting set where we are, having costumes
be the major detail,” she said of her vision for the play.
“The Heidi Chronicles,” a fictional
play written by Wendy Wasserstein, is
a story that focuses on the life progression of the main character, who is an
art historian. “My first time reading
through it, it was a little hard to understand; it’s kind of a complicated play,”
Jones said. “It takes Heidi through
scenes of her life during three decades:
the 1960s, ’70s and the ’80s.
“Each scene is in a new year of
Heidi’s life, so it’s very different — you
gotta keep up, ’cause it goes through

like 30 years.”
The progression of the main character is shown in all aspects of her life.
“You just see her relationship with
men in her life, and with women in her
life, and it’s kinda her growth… and
she ends up as a mature woman at the
end,” Jones said.
She said the play has historical
references that older generations will
enjoy. “It’s a smart play. It gets you
to think deeper about life and what we
view — television, and all the things
surrounding us.
“The John Lennon shooting is
in the play, all (those) kind of references,” she said. “So, I think the older
generation will love it, get it.”
One of the most difficult parts for
Jones and the rest of the cast is making sure they are familiar with and
understand the time periods they are
acting in. “We have to really educate
ourselves on the time periods... you
just kinda have to really think older

and mature,” she said.
Another struggle for the student
director is trying to manage friendships and authority.
“It was really crazy doing auditions, just because I know what my
friends wanted. I just had to separate
and focus on what I think would be best
for the play,” she said.
Jones believes the play’s audience
will benefit, emerging with a better
understanding and reflection on their
own lives: “The play is a lot of subtext… I think people will come out of
this play really thinking about themselves and what they’re doing with
their lives.”
“The Heidi Chronicles” opens May
29, starting at 7:30 p.m., with repeat
showings the same time on May 3031.
Advance tickets cost $5 and may
be purchased at the College Theatre
lobby, Wednesday through Friday, or
online at mhcc.edu/theatre.

6

News

May 16, 2014

News Briefs

Perceptions magazine releases at McMenamins Edgefield

RICE club hosts annual luau
Limbo, lunch, and leis will be
featured at Mt. Hood’s third-annual
Luau on May 28, hosted by the R.I.C.E
Club from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Main
Mall. Remarkable Islanders Causing
Excitement (R.I.C.E) strives to break
down cultural barriers and expose
others to diverse cultures, said Christina White, who has been the R.I.C.E
Club president for the past three
years. This event is an opportunity to
learn more about Guam culture.
About 400 people attended last
year’s luau, and even more are expected this year. The event is free for
MHCC students.
Guests can learn how to make leis
and enjoy authentic island food, such
as full-roasted pig, rice, Spam, egg
rolls, and Hawaiian sun beverages
(juice-based drinks with no sodium,
making them healthier than soda),
said White.
Entertainment includes Ross
Moss, a live singer from Samoa,
who also performed last year. Local
Portland DJ Michael Morris will provide additional music. Hula dancers

from the R.I.C.E Club will perform,
as well as professional dancers from
Aloha, Ore., and children from Hawaii. World-certified storyteller and
author, Tanya Chargualaf, will speak
about the local legends of Guam.
Other MHCC clubs will attend this
event, allowing students to see what
else is offered on campus. The Japanese Club will be doing kanji writing. ASL, Gamers, Image Makers and
many more clubs will have tables set
up with information and activities.
Non-MHCC students are urged to
bring a non-perishable food item as
an entrance fee. Items will be donated to Barney’s Pantry, which provides
food to Mt. Hood students in need.
White encourages any interested
person to attend.
“Islanders,
non-islanders,
doesn’t matter where anybody’s really from or (their) background, culturally,” she said. “We love to share
our background with everybody. It’s
a lot of fun.”

- Madeline Boyce

MHCC’s literary magazine, Perceptions, is being released on Friday, May 23.
This year, Perceptions will offer a
whopping 200 pages of fiction, poetry,
nonfiction, art and photography, and
even a music CD and a DVD of short
films. Although staff and students here
provide most of the material for Perceptions, there are quite a few contributors
from all over Oregon and from other
countries, as well. Megan Jones, Perceptions managing editor, said, “It started
out as kind of a little tiny Mt. Hood thing
and (has) just grown over the years into
this. It’s really awesome.”

The magazine is printed and put together on campus by the editors, who
are all MHCC students. Each of the editors takes a yearlong sequence class for
one to two credits per term, depending on how much time they are needed
during the production process. Their
advisers, Jonathan Morrow and Lidia
Yuknavitch, are humanities teachers at
Mt. Hood. The graphics represented in
Perceptions are also provided by MHCC
students. Perceptions has been worked
on all through the year, whether it be
writing the articles and taking pictures,
or actually producing the magazine.

The release party on May 23 goes
from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at McMenaminsEdgefield, and is free for anyone. One
of the bands from the included CD will
perform, and there will be free food and
multiple readings.
“A lot of students from here (MHCC)
will be reading, so it’s nice to come and
support your peers,” said Jones.
Perceptions will cost $15. Guests can
pick it up at the release party, or purchase copies in the Humanities Department office starting the next day.

– Hayden Hunter

ASG sponsors ‘Mind Matters’ team for mental illness walk
ASG is sponsoring a team to participate in NAMI’s (National Alliance on
Mental Illness) NAMIWalk Northwest
annual event, which takes place Sunday
in downtown Portland.
This week, MHCC’s team, “Mind
Matters,” was ranked ninth out of the
ten largest teams involved.
“Our goal is to become the largest
team in the walk,” said Melissa Gonzales
McNeal, science instructor at Mt. Hood,
who is joined by Joy Smith, ASG director

of community affairs. Gonzales McNeal
is also the vice president on NAMI Multnomah’s board of directors.
Currently, Mind Matters has 29
walkers, comprised of students, faculty,
staff, friends and family.
“NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions
of Americans affected by mental illness,”
said McNeal. “NAMI advocates for access
to services, treatment, supports and re-

search and is steadfast in its commitment
to raise awareness and build a community
for hope for all of those in need.”
Mind Matters has raised $500 in donations to support NAMI, besides raising
awareness of mental illness issues.
To join Mind Matters in the 5K NAMI
walk, registration can be found at http://
namiwalks.nami.org/MHCCmgm. Click
on “Join my team.”

- Emily Wintringham

Donate clothes to
Snowcap at the C3
ASG is putting on a three-day
awareness event called C3, which
means Clothing, Community, and Consciousness.
The event is open to MHCC students
and all others, and “is intended to build
a stronger community among students
in order to strengthen awareness for
women in many other places who are
fighting for their rights in education,”
said Diana Ramirez, ASG multicultural
coordinator.
The effort starts on Tuesday with
three showings of the movie “Girl Rising,” on the television located by Barney’s Pantry in the Student Union.
Show times are 1, 3 and 5 p.m.
“Girl Rising” is a film about nine
girls from around the globe who face
a variety of challenges and injustices,
from slavery to arranged marriages.
“I have chosen this movie because
I would like to show our students how
powerful education can be and some
challenges that women face to break
barriers,” Ramirez said. The film also
will be shown at noon Thursday at the
MHCC Maywood Campus, in Room 144.
Donors may contribute to the C3
event even now, by donating gently
used clothes, placing them in the donation box in the Student Union.
There will be a clothing swap from
noon to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday in
the Main Mall. All clothing that is not
swapped will be donated to Snow Cap
Community Charities.

- Teela Bergen

Relax before finals
On Wednesday, Mt. Hood’s ASG will
host Student Appreciation Day in the
Main Mall, featuring the band Ballroom
Thieves.
The celebration, open and free to
all MHCC students, is “supposed to be
a day for everybody to come out and
just relax before the craziness of finals
week,” said Kristin Werner, director of
the Student Activities Board (SAB) .
Activities begin 11:30 a.m. At noon,
the Ballroom Thieves will take the stage
in the Main Mall, and continue to perform until 1 p.m. Voodoo Doughnuts
will be provided during the performance. Attendees will may then go
to the fire pit on campus (on the lawn
between the Student Union and the Mt.
Hood pond) and enjoy s’mores, from 1
to 2 p.m.

– Hayden Hunter

Sports

May 16, 2014

Sophomore Teauna Hughes during last year’s NWAACC tournament.

7

Photo contributed by Jonathan Long

Mt. Hood No. 1 going into NWAACCs
Saints clinch South, earn top seed for tournament that starts today in Portland
by Aaron Marshall
The Advocate
For the second year in a row, the
Saints softball team (35-3, 17-3) has
clinched the South Region in the
NWAACC, and enters this weekend’s
championship tournament as the No. 1
overall seed.
“We are proud of this accomplishment,” said head coach Meadow McWhorter. “It’s definitely one of the top
regular seasons ever.”
Now, the Saints hope for a better
ending in the tournament.
Last season, with a record of 39-7
(16-4 South), the Saints won the South
and earned the top tournament seed.
After losing to the eventual champion
Wenatchee Valley Community College,
6-1, and then to Douglas College, 5-4,
the team would finish third in the tournament.
This season, the team has looked
even better than last year’s group and
its impressive roster during the regular season. McWhorter says this year’s
team is different from those she’s
coached in the past and it’s what she
will remember the most.
“Their love of the game, drive to get
better, our sophomore leadership and

the ‘specialness’ this team displayed
early in the year that has continued
to grow all season,” McWhorter said
of her players. “Every team has their
unique qualities, but this team is special. I have never been more inspired or
more appreciative of a group than I am
of this group and we have had some incredible teams.
“These young ladies are so dedicated to their studies, their teammates
and the program,” she said.
Mt. Hood clinched the region title
on Mother’s Day last Sunday after defeating Clackamas 5-1 in Game One of
a double-header, before losing, 7-2, in
the second match-up.
Entering with a one-game lead, the
Saints only needed one win to clinch
the region and they accomplished that.
Scoring twice in the second inning and
three times in the fourth, Mt. Hood
showed it was more determined to win.
The Saints would finish with 10 hits
compared to the Cougars’ four, a big
advantage. Freshman Kasidee Lemberger led the team in hits with three
with four at-bats, with a double and an
RBI.
“It felt good to know my teammates
knew I could get the job done,” said
Lemberger.

Freshman Ashlee Mueller also contributed, driving in two runs. Sophomore Ann-Marie Guischer picked up
her 15th win of the season, tossing a
complete game in seven innings and
giving up four hits and one earned run.
With the South title won, Game
Two didn’t have much meaning, but
Mt. Hood would end with the 7-2 loss.
Sophomore Emma Bird led the team
in hits with two and drove in one RBI.
Sophomore Morgan Entze drove in the
other run. Sophomore Nicole Kellams
picked up the loss, pitching a complete
game and finishing 2-1 on the season.
Today is the first day of the
NWAACC tournament, played at Delta
Park in north Portland, which goes until Monday morning when two teams
battle for the championship.
The Saints are again the favorite to
win (something they did three straight
times in 2009-11).
“I thought it was a big accomplishment winning the South Region. Our
first goal was to make it to NWAACCs
and the fact that we won the South Region just made it that much better,”
said Lemberger.
Taking the region title “was definitely an amazing feeling,” said
SheaLee Lindsey. “Since the beginning

of the season our first goal was to make
it into the tournament, then win the
South (Region). So, it was definitely a
huge deal to clinch the title.”
Mt. Hood’s first game in the tournament will be at noon today against
No. 16 seed Grays Harbor Community
College, on Field No. 3 at Delta Park.
The two teams met on March 1, with
the Saints winning 15-0 in Game One
and Grays Harbor forfeiting the second
game. They also played on March 15,
with the Saints winning 15-0.
“My mindset going into the tournament is we just have to take one
game at a time and never underestimate a team,” said freshman Mercedes
Green, not taking the first game lightly.
The winner of that match-up will
play the winner of No. 8 Spokane v. No.
9 Bellevue, at 4 p.m. today on Field No.
2.
“Once we’re in the tournament,
nothing in the past matters. Every team
is a challenge and we just need to take it
game by game,” said Lemberger.
The target will be on the Saints’
back with the top seed, and teams will
look to get their revenge against Mt.
Hood if they get the chance.
“Coach (McWhorter) tells us every
day that once we get to the tournament,

everyone’s stats and wins are back to
zero,” said Lindsey. “Everything starts
over and it doesn’t matter how many
times we’ve beat a team before, anyone
can win on any given day.”
McWhorter explained her point:
“Every team has pressed the restart
button. What you did before means
nothing, only thing that matters is the
present. We need to play with purpose,
one thing at a time, control what we can
control and leave it all on the field,” she
said.
Besides the Saints, some teams to
look out for at Delta Park are Clackamas; reigning champion Wenatchee
Valley; Douglas College; Southwestern
Oregon; and Chemeketa Community
College, which surprisingly shut out
Mt. Hood, 5-0, on May 6.
“Chelsie Speer (former assistant
to McWhorter, and former Saints head
volleyball coach) always said ‘face the
opponent.’ And that has been a quote
I tell myself before every game,” said
Lindsey.
McWhorter says she wants her
players to just enjoy the experience.
“Be in the moment, leave it all on
the field and enjoy this last weekend
together playing Hood ball as a family,”
she said.

Track and field prepares for NWAACCs early next week
by Edgar Valencia
The Advocate
Mt Hood’s Earl Klapstein Stadium hosted the
NWAACC Southern Championships Saturday,
where the Saints track and field team put in a
convincing performance in front of their home
crowd.
With solid efforts, both the women’s and
men’s teams finished third out of six teams participating in the meet. The Saints women ran up
a score of 161.5 points, while the men scored 123
points.
“Our goal was to finish strong and compete
with schools like Lane (LCC) and Clackamas
(CCC) who were the two favorites, and we did,”
said head coach Doug Bowman. (Lane and Clackamas placed 1-2 in both the men’s and women’s
competition.) “Some of their strong athletes in
throws did not perform well and ours did.”
Two Saints finished on top in the discus, as
sophomore Cody Quinton threw for first (43.03
meters), while freshman Tyler Jackson came in
second (42.96 meters).
Freshman Zach Kilgore placed second in the
shot put with 13.42 meters, while Jackson came
right behind him in third with 13.27 meters.
Another athlete with a good performance
was sophomore Justin Schlaht, who earned the
top slot in the javelin throw with 55.12 meters
and also took third in the hammer throw, with
42.45 meters.
Freshman Janaree Porter represented the

Saints fairly well on the home track as he finished sixth in the 100-meter sprint (11.35),
and came in fifth in the 200-meter sprint
(22.47).
Two freshman made the top five in the
800-meter run, as Brandon Raleigh ran for third
place (1.59.41) and Taylor Hybl came in fifth
(2.01.47).
In the 110-meter hurdles, freshman Devon
Larson finished third (15.90) and his teammate,
freshman Kingsley Mgbadigha came in fifth
(16.35).
Over in the high jump, freshman Brock Otis
finished sixth with 1.77 meters. Otis also came in
sixth in the triple jump (12.62 meters).
The women’s team got good performances
from athletes who were still looking to qualify
for the NWACC Championship meet, coming
early next week.
All eyes were on sophomore McKenzie Warren, who had another dominant meet, as she
finished in first place in the shot put (12.78 meters), first in the discus (44.28 meters) and first
once again in the hammer throw (50.34 meters).
“McKenzie was able to show her hard work
by finishing on top, over some of the Lane Community College women who outdistanced her
last year,” said Bowman.
Mt. Hood showed well in the high jump, too.
Freshman Marley Yates took first place (1.62
meters), followed by freshman Xayna Robinson
in fourth (1.57 meters) and sophomore Carrie
Haguewood in sixth place (1.52 meters).

In the 100-meter dash, two Saints came in
good positions as sophomore Kristi Kachel finished third (12.83), while Yates rounded off the
top five (13.06).
Sophomore Caitlyn Safley ran for fifth in the
200-meter sprint (26.04), improving her time
from the previous meet. Yates finished sixth in
the same event (26.70).
Beating her previous time by four seconds,
freshman Shanice Lakes finished third in the
400-meter sprint (57.78), while Safley came
right behind in fourth (57.99).
Lakes rounded out her afternoon by taking second in the triple jump with 11.01 meters,
while freshman Xayna Robinson finished sixth
with 10.49 meters.
The 4 x 400 meter relay was dominated by
the Saints team, which cleared the line six seconds faster than the next opponent (4.06.46.).
The last stop in the season for the Saints
track and field athletes will be the NWAACC
Championship meet, which takes place in Spokane on Monday-Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m.
“In the championships, we are looking good
to fight for fourth place, and we are looking for
the challenge,” said Bowman.
Mt. Hood Community College will be represented well, as 18 men and 16 women of the team
will give it their all, one last time.
“This last meet of the year is a reward (for)
all the work put in,” said Bowman. “I am very
proud of the time, effort and commitment each
athlete and coach has put in this season.”

Photo contributed by Oscar Rethwill

Freshman Megan Nelson participating in the hammer throw
during the South Region Championships last Saturday.

8

Sports

May 16, 2014

Warren brings the hammer

Sophomore McKenzie Warren breaks MHCC records as she sets her sights on Olympics
by Tyler Cornelison
The Advocate
“In Sandy, everyone knew each
other and that was easy because Sandy
was small. Coming here was different,”
said Mt. Hood sophomore McKenzie
Warren, who grew up in tiny Boring, located between Gresham and Sandy.
At Sandy High School, Warren was
on the track and field team, where she
threw the discus and shot put. Two
years later, she’s added the hammer
throw to her immense talents.
She continues to dominate her
NWAACC track and field rivals, wearing
the black and red at Mt. Hood Community College while she dreams of competing in the 2016 Olympics.
Warren is the reigning league
champion in the hammer throw,
and took second in the discus at the
NWAACC championships held last May.
She built on a remarkable freshman year this spring, extending her Mt.
Hood school record marks in both the
discus and hammer as she racked up
more first-place finishes.
As another championship meet
kicks off Monday, Warren can reflect
on her outdoor roots – and her personal
growth.
“I love being in the woods,” she
said. “I love camping. I love the outdoors,” expressing her love for fishing
and hunting. Living out in the country
is just where she likes it, at her family
home: “It’s not there in the city. It’s
country. We have a big piece of property.”
Warren was swept by the outdoor
life early on. The peace of the outdoors
was something she took a liking to. Her
father is a commercial fisherman, as
was her grandfather. Those two would

Photo by Carole Riggs - The Advocate

McKenzie Warren shows off her practice hammer as she prepares for the NWAACCs.
hunt together, a hobby that was passed
down to her brothers, then to Warren
herself. “It has always been in the family,” she said.

The rugged country lifestyle can
encourage a do-it-yourself attitude.
But Warren sees the big picture, too.
“This is a team sport,” she said.

“But, when you are doing your event,
you know what you need to do. You’re
doing it for yourself but it’s also contributing to your team.”
Warren said she has learned plenty
as a student and athlete at MHCC.
“I’ve learned to respect people a
lot more. You’ve got to learn to respect
(track teammates),” she said. “As a
student, going outside my comfort
zone, (to) actually pay attention, do my
homework, go to class, because I definitely didn’t do that in high school.”
Warren has been inspired by others throughout her life, she said. One
person who stands out the most is Doug
Bowman, MHCC head track and field
coach. She explained, “He’s been my
coach since third grade. It’s going to be
weird, honestly, next year, going to a
new school and not having him there.
He’s like my second dad.”
Warren is looking to transfer on
to Concordia University, in northeast
Portland, through an athletic scholarship where she will study business.
From there, she plans to go on to another community college to get her
paramedic license.
“I’m going to be a paramedic/firefighter,” she said. “I’ve always wanted
to do something in the medical field
and I just kind of picked that.”
Warren makes it clear that she appreciates all of her support. Her best
friend, Caitlyn Safley, is always by her
side. Safley was on the track and field
team at Sandy with her and now is a
Saints teammate. They both graduated
from Sandy High in 2012.
“We’ve literally been best friends
forever,” said Warren, who noted their
mothers were friends, as well. “It helps.
I’m not very outgoing. I mean, I talk to
people if they talk to me first. I’m kind

of shy. We help each other meet new
people, and I’ve met a lot of new people
on the track team.”
Safley is the one Warren leans on as
a friend. They made it through schooling together and are not done yet. These
two look to move on to Concordia next
year and live together.
For now, Warren is looking directly
to the 2016 Olympics. Only a few meters
separate Warren’s best marks from the
Olympic qualifying standard in her several events.
Reaching the provisional mark for
the Olympics would send her to Eugene
in spring 2016, for the U.S. Olympic Trials. “(Bowman) can help me with that,
too,” explains Warren.
Long before that, Warren has to

Warren

Olympic

(Personal Best) (Qualification)

Discus
145’2

183’7

Hammer
178’07”

206’6

*Olympic numbers transfered
from meters
focus on the NWAACC championship
meet, which will be held Monday and
Tuesday at Spokane Falls Community
College. She will compete in the shot
put on Monday, and toss the hammer
and discus on Tuesday.
“I’ve just got to practice my footwork,” she said, focused on keeping
her technique sharp. “And (to) rest, not
throw a whole lot.”

Baseball looks to end
season on positive note
Saints miss playoffs, but ride three-game
win streak into today’s finale
Brandon Raleigh
The Advocate

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The past week was bittersweet for
the Saints baseball team: Mt. Hood (1723, 14-14 South Region) played admirably in all four games, but a close loss
to Southwesterm Oregon Community
College (SWOCC) spoiled the Saints’
chances of NWAACC playoff qualification.
On Sunday, Mt. Hood split a double-header against SWOCC. Game One
was frustrating for the Saints, who saw
a late lead slip away in extra innings –
and with it, their postseason hopes.
SWOCC took the game, 5-4. In the
loss, Mt. Hood sophomore John Welborn contributed two hits and two RBIs
in four at-bats.
“We had a chance to win the game
in the ninth and the tenth innings. To
just get a base hit, and we didn’t come
up with one,” said Saints head coach
Bryan Donohue. “It was a really frustrating loss because we had three-run
lead late in the game, and we had opportunities to add on additional runs.”
The Saints shook off the blow,
shutting out SWOCC, 3-0, in Game Two
behind the arm of sophomore pitcher
Zane Bambusch.
Mt. Hood found a spark on the offensive, end from freshman Tommy
Lane, who had two hits, including a
home run, and three RBIs in three atbats.
On Monday, the Saints came back
strong in a double-header against
Clackamas Community College. Mt.
Hood took care of business, winning
both games.
In Game One, the Saints won in

dominating fashion, 11-1. Mt. Hood
piled on runs late, scoring nine total runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Freshman Louis Wolf had a strong offensive performance with three hits in
four at-bats. Sophomore third basemen
Logan Grindy added three RBIs.

UP NEXT:
Doubleheader vs. Chemekata
Community College
Oslund Field
Today, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Game Two mirrored the first, as
the Saints cruised to a 10-1 victory over
Clackamas. The Saints played nearperfect baseball, committing zero errors and racking up 12 hits. Wolf contributed three hits and three RBIs in
four at-bats, while Lane batted in four
RBIs and with two hits in three at-bats.
Donohue was happy about Monday’s sweep.
“Best day we’ve had this season.
A lot of it had to do with just executing things offensively and doing some
things defensively. Everything that we
have worked on showed up,” he said.
“It was a good day for our freshmen to
be a part of. Just to see what we can do.
“We didn’t play out of our minds
yesterday, we just played well.”
Today, Mt. Hood looks to finish the
year strong in a double-header at home
against Chemeketa Community College
(20-21 overall, 12-16 South Region).
The games will be held at Oslund
Field at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Donohue
said he hopes the Saints will finish off
league play with a winning division record.